What is a tank—and does France’s gift to Ukraine fit the bill?
Defining one is harder than you think
“WE ARE NOT entering the war,” declared Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, in June 2022. “Thus, it has been agreed not to supply certain weapons—including attack aircraft or tanks.” Mr Macron has changed his tune. On January 4th he said that he had agreed to supply Ukraine with the AMX-10RC, which he described as a “light battle tank”. Among military geeks, that sparked a furious debate: does the AMX-10RC meet the definition? And what is a tank, anyway?
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From the January 14th 2023 edition
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